WORLD’S TALLEST STATUE WITH INNOVATIVE LIFTS DEBUTS IN INDIA

After nearly four years of construction, at 182 m tall the world's tallest statue, the Statue of Unity, has been inaugurated in Gujarat State, India, various news outlets, including dezeen, report. Created by Michael Graves Architecture and Design and designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar, the statue depicts Sardar Patel, who was instrumental in freeing India from British Colonial rule. Patel's nickname was the Iron Man, and the sculpture was built using tens of thousands of tons of scrap metal. Michael Graves Principal James Wisniewski said designing elevators to carry 15,000 visitors a day up to a 153-m-high viewing platform was among the project's main challenges. Patel’s traditional Indian dhoti allowed the team to design the elevators in a staggered fashion inside two reinforced concrete cores forming the center of the statue. The system includes a pair of mass dampers at chest height to control sway in high winds and protect the statue in the event of an earthquake.